Feature Interview with

Dr. Andrew Marshall

Dr. Andrew Marshall started piano lessons, along with his two siblings, at around age six. He continued through high school and college, and to the doctoral level studying piano performance, music education, and conducting.

Andrew’s parents, Alfonso and Jacqueline Marshall, are lovers of music. They were instrumental in fanning the musical flame and both encouraging and supporting his journey. His piano teacher, Ms. Maureen Coombs, was also influential in guiding him in the classical realm from preparatory school through to high school. Stylistically, classical music in his home was one of the influences. Other genres that influenced him were gospel, pop, R&B, reggae, and dancehall.

One of the most significant aspects of his works has been the putting of portions of the Jamaican New Testament to music in Cantatas for both Christmas and Easter. This naturally caught the attention of the KW Magazine, especially when Editor Jo-Ann Richards Goffe was asked to serve as narrator for the 2019 performance of the Christmas Cantata Jiizas A-Go Baan, in which Dr. Marshall conducted the Philharmonic Orchestra of Jamaica and the Jamaica Choral Scholars. It was an excellent blend of Jamaican language and music genres - especially reggae and revival - with Listen in on this conversation between Dr. Marshall and Ethnodoxologist Jo-Ann Richards Goffe to learn more about what motivated him along the way.

KW: I think my first exposure to your music was when the Jamaica Symphony Orchestra was doing one of your pieces - Run-A-Boat Symphony. What was your motivation for writing that Symphony? Was there any dissonance between your connection to church and your writing of this piece?

Dr. Marshall: I was approached by the then music director of the Jamaica Symphony Orchestra, Dr. Lisa Walker, to write a piece for the group that would feature the steel pan as an official fifth section of the traditional ensemble. In writing the piece, I conceived three additional movements to create an extended work. There were no dissonances of my personal, spiritual journey and the writing of the piece.

KW: Subsequent to our encounter with the orchestra, you invited me to speak at the Jamaica Choral Scholars Festival annual lecture. What was the intention behind this annual festival and lecture? Have you been achieving your goal with this?

Dr. Marshall: The Jamaica Choral Scholars Festival is an initiative I started in 2010 to study, create, and perform Jamaican choral music; and to facilitate engagements that would shed light on the cultural gravity of this body of works in Jamaican life. One of the features of the festival is a lecture series in which a scholar is invited to share their knowledge with the festival participants. The goal has always been to not only perform Jamaican choral music, but to have the members be aware of the varied contexts that impact the works being studied. From all indications, since our inception, the members have found the lectures informative, and its goal is being achieved.

KW: I can’t help but notice that you have done work highlighting the plight of the poor, vulnerable and disenfranchised. One example of this is Orange Lane, in Memoriam. Talk to us about this concern you seem to have. What is the root of it? Do you see where your music is having an impact and bringing about transformation for this category of people?

Dr. Marshall: I’ve envisioned a Jamaica that thrives boldly in eradicating biases; a Jamaica that intentionally creates opportunities for its citizens to experience financial and intellectual independence; and a nation passionate about its unprecedented investment in human capital. I was reading a biography recently on Michael Manley by Godfrey Smith and I came across the occurrence of the Orange Lane Massacre in the 1970s. The idea that this incident is largely unsung in generations that followed was unsettling. Jamaicans have always been a strong and proud people. Events such as these that undermine human life and dehumanize the poor and disenfranchised run contrary to achieving the kind of success our country can attain. My idea was to capture the moment musically to pay homage to a situation that should not be forgotten or repeated. It has yet to be seen whether the music is having an impact as you have described. It’s my hope that it honors the memory of the lives lost and strengthens our resolve to purge Jamaica of such acts.

KW: Through your work creating cantatas using text straight from the Jamaican New Testament, you have somehow managed to increase the value of the Jamaican language, as well as make classical European music more accessible to speakers of the language. What made you think of doing this? What were the main challenges you faced, particularly in balancing Europeanness and Africanness? Did you have any opposition? What did it do for you personally?

Dr. Marshall: Musical expression is realized in many ways. The classical form is one of the styles that is not readily associated with Jamaican culture. In observing the comparatively few works in this vein, I was intrigued to showcase our culture within this—to use a term coined by Jamaican musician Alison Wallace— ‘Jassical’ genre. I acknowledge the foundations of the classical style as European indeed, but I do not limit its use or appropriation accordingly. I haven’t encountered opposition to the writing or performance of the music. The feedback that has been received, rather, has been positive and receptive.

There are many benefits that can be obtained by combining this form and our Jamaican text, the details of which would require another forum outside of this response. If nothing else, however, I invite listeners to revisit their predispositions about music, culture, and artistic expression. I’ve never seen it as an attempt to balance Europeanness and Africanness. My desire, contrarily, is to remove nomenclatures, musical and otherwise, that encourage prejudiced receptivity; and to, instead, forge forward, mentally unfettered, into the future, exploring the myriad of possibilities it holds. Personally, it continues to present opportunities to explore different facets of musical expression informed by Jamaican sensibilities.

KW: Do you have any advice or suggestions for church leaders on how to approach this balance we are speaking of?

Dr. Marshall: Traditions are good, but in many instances, they bind many, hand and foot, keeping progress at bay. With an open mind, many avenues may be studied and explored to bring about success in the causes that are dear to us.

KW: Dr. Marshall, thank you so much for the amazing work that you have done so far to help Jamaicans to embrace their whole authentic selves through their language and music, and by so doing, to deepen their worship experiences. We are looking forward to much more from you!